Cops hunted a deadly viper that was never real

Santa Ana PD put out a public alert about a 4–5 foot Gaboon viper, one of the world's most venomous snakes, sitting in a tree on Cypress Avenue. Residents were told to keep away. Police and reptile experts went to the scene.

They found no snake. The only evidence was a photo from a resident, and herpetologists who searched the area found nothing to match it. The man who sent it then admitted the photo was AI-generated and the report was false. Charges may follow.

The department's own take: AI images "can look very real," and false information shared as fact "can quickly create unnecessary fear, confusion, and concern." It's the same pattern behind recent hoax monkey sightings in New Jersey, where AI images also sent police out on a call.

The fake cost real responder time and scared a neighborhood. It also teaches the wrong lesson: if a fake wildlife photo can trigger a police alert, anything can.

Why it matters: Agencies now have to check whether a photo is real before they act on it, and each fake costs them response time.